driggs



(No Model.) 7 I 4 Sheets-Sheet 1. L. L. BRIGGS.

CHECK PUNCH.

No. 493,547. Patented Mar. 14, 1898.

(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 2.

L. L'. BRIGGS.

CHECK PUNCH.

Patented Mar. 14, 1893.

' 4 sheets shee t 3,

(No Model.)

L, L. BRIGGS.

CHECK PUNCH.

No. 493,547. Patented Mar. 14, 1893.

(No Model!) 4 Sheets-Sheet 4.

' L. L. BRIGGS.

CHECK PUNCH.

Patented Mar. 1-4

m: Ncnms Prrzas c0 FHOTO LITNO., WASHINGTON, n. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LOUIS L. DRIGGS, OF WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

CHECK-PUNCH.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 493,547, dated March14, 1893.

Application filed October 19, 1892. Serial No. 449,350. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, LOUIS L. DRIGGS, a citizen of the United States,residing at Washington, in the District of Columbia, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Check-Punches; and I do herebydeclare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description oftheinvention,such as will enable others skilled in the art to which itappertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in check-punches for cutting out ofthe paper on which the check is written, figures or other signsindicative of the amount included in the check.

I am aware that numerous devices have hitherto been patented foraccomplishing the same result, but this invention is intended to providea cheap and simplified device for accomplishing the desired end.

It consists of certain novel features hereinafter described and claimed,reference being had to the accompanying drawings in which correspondingparts are indicated by similar letters throughout the several views.

Figure 1 is a plan view of the machine. Fig. 2 represents a sectionalong the line y y of Fig. 1, looking to the right. Fig. 2 represents adetail view of the ends of the cams, the parts being broken away, so asto show the engagement of the upwardly projecting arm with the camsurfaces on the ends ofthe levers. Fig. 3 represents a section madealong the broken line a: so of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 represents a perspectiveview of the feed roller and its attachments. Fig. 5 represents aperspective view of the joint formed at the connection of thedie-levers, and illustrates the wedge-faces by which the levers areoperated. Fig. 6 represents an enlarged view of a portion of thedie-levers, and of the key lever for operating the same, as shown on areduced scale in Fig. 2. Fig. 7 represents a side elevation of a methodof operating the levers, adapted for use in the device shown in Fig. 1.Fig. 8 represents a device for centering the die adapted for use in myinvention. Figs. 9 and 10 represent other methods by which the dielevers are operated.

A represents a base plate or pedestal upon which the machine is mounted.On this pedestal are secured the desired number of stanchions Apreferably arranged in the shape of an arc, on which are pivoted the dielevers D and E, and the key levers F. Two stanchions A and A as shown inFig. 3, are also attached to the pedestal A, and carry the supportingtable B for holding the check, and the mechanism for feeding the checkto the die.

All the operative parts of the machine are mounted upon the group ofstanchions A, and the two stanchions A and A Mounted on the top of thestanchions A and A is a plate A bent upward at its end a to partly coverthe rollers a which are journaled in the projecting arms a of thestanchions A and A This plate A may form partof the casting for thestanchions A and A or may be applied separately and fastened thereto.Beneath the said arms a the upper portion of the stanchion is turnedover as shown at a and between the jaws a and a the plate B passes. Thisplate B is provided with a pendent side I) which acts as a case for themechanism, and protects the same, while at its opposite side it ispivoted at b to the stanchions A and A at the junction of the jaws a anda as shown in Fig. 2. This plate is normally supported in position bythe projecting end 19 of a coil spring B, but this spring allows thesaid plate to be pressed down from the plate A, so that the checks mayreadily be inserted.

The plate B is provided with a hole B tapering as shown at b in Fig. 8,or at b and b as shown in Fig. 7, and large enough to admit any of thefemale dies in'use on the machine, and the plate A is provided with ahole A which may also be tapering as shown at (1 in Fig. 8, and must belarge enough to allow the passage through it of any of the male dies.

The plate B carries the rollers 17 and E the latter being fitted as afeed roller by carrying on its shaft a ratchet wheel 19 which isnormally held by the spring b attached to the projection b pendent. fromthe said plate B. Motion is given to this ratchet wheel by the pallet Khaving the prong k engaging the teeth of the ratchet wheel, and providedwith a prong k which is normally held against the lower face of theplate B as will be hereinafter described. The lower end of this pallet Kis attached to a bar H over which the parts F of the key levers F pass,but which bar is held at some distance below the normal position of thesaid key levers by means of the projecting arm k of the pallet K asshown in Fig. 3. This bar H is supported in position by the springs itconnected to the rod H mounted in levers h pivoted to the projectingarms W, and connected at their opposite ends by the connecting rods h tothe bar II. The pallet K moves in the guide 0. attached to the stanchionA,and is drawn to the ratchet wheel by the spring 10 It thus will beseen that the springs h lift the bar H, and pallet K, while the arm 7cof the said pallet prevents the bar H from being lifted too high, itbeing desired that the said bar H should be struck by the key lever justbefore the said lever is pressed down into the operative position, asshown in dotted lines in Fig. 2.

The hole is punched in the check by means of a male die D, and a femaledie E attached to swinging levers, and adapted to be brought together atthe plate B, on which the check is placed.

In the device shown in Figs. 2 and 6,- the levers D and E carrying thedies D and E respectively, are provided with cam faces d and 6', againstwhich the pointf of the inner arm F of the key leverF is adapted tostrike, wedging the two apart as shown in Figs. 2 and 6, and causing thedies to swing together as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2. The cam facee terminates in a groove e for purposes hereinafter to be described. Thedie levers are preferably connected together as shown in Fig. 5, thetongue 6 passing between the jaws d and both being pivoted on the fixedaxle G mounted on the stanchions A. The lower lever E preferablycarrying the female die, is adapted to drop down aftereach stroke, byits own weight, while the upper lever D is lifted by a spring d attachedto a projecting arm (1 on the rear end of the lever D. This spring d isconnected at its lower end to the key lever Fat f, and is adapted toraise up the key F at the same time that its lifts the die D.

G represents a stop bar attached to projections from the upper portionof the stanchions A to prevent the upper die lever from being broughtback too far, and Z is a stop bar attached to the stanchions a to limitthe up ward motion of the keys F.

In the construction shown in Fig.7, the key lever F is pivoted at itsinner end on the bar F attached to the projection a on the stanchion A.The arm F projects upward from the lever F, and terminates in twoslotted arms f and f provided with slots f and f respectively. The slotfis widened as atf for pu rposes to be hereinafter described. Into theseslots f andf, the studs d and e connected'to the die levers D and E,respectively, engage. A spring f 8 is secured beneath the key lever F.It will be evident that if the key be pressed down as shown in dottedlines, the dies will be brought together, and that upon the release ofthe key F the key lever will be lifted bythe spring f and the dies willbe swung apart.

In the device shown in Figs. 9 and 10, a pin f 9 and roller f fit in aslot in each of the die lever arms, and the dies are brought together orforced apart by pressure on the key F, as before.

In the device shown in Fig. 9, the slot e is somewhat steeper than theslot at", so that the female die may be broughtinto position first, andthe slot 6 is curved outward as at e to relieve the strain on the dielever E when it is centered in position in the hole B In the deviceshown in Fig. 10, the slots d and e are inclined somewhat at d and e tofacilitate the starting of the die levers from the open position,indicated in dotted lines, and the slot e is made steeper than the slotd and is curved as at e in order that the female die may be brought intooperative position before the male die and held in that position whilethe male die is nearing the end of its stroke.

It will be observed that in the devices shown in Figs. 2, G, 7 and 9 theforce exerted on the die levers acts as a lever arm decreasing from thebeginning to the end of the downward motion of the key F andconsequently a loss of power is obtained toward the end of the stroke,which is to a degree compensated for by the increased momentum of thedie levers and dies. In the device shown in Fig. 10 on the other handthere is a gain of power toward the end of the stroke.

In order that in no case should the male die reach the check before thefemale die and so tear a hole therethrough, and at the same time toprevent the female die from tearing the check when it arrives in theposition to receive the male die, I provide a conical face e on thefemale die which is centered in and arrested by the tapering sides 12 ofthe hole B in the plate 13, and to insure the arrival of the female dieat the plate first, I preferably make the cam face e as shown in Figs. 2and 5, steeper than the cam face (1' and provide a groove e into whichthe tongue f passes freely when the female die is in the desiredposition for punching the check.

In the device shown in Fig. 7 the stud e and slot f G are so arrangedthat the die E will be thrown into the position shown in dotted linesbefore the die D will come to its proper position for punching, and thenthe stud a will pass into the enlargementf of the slot f holding thelever E in position without any further tendency to raise the die. Ineither case it will be seen that the female die is first raised intoposition and centered, and the male die following quickly is alsocentered by the inclined faces b or (1 as the case may be, and then cutsthe desired mark out of the check.

While I have shown eleven keys marked with the ten figures, and thedollar sign, the number, groupings, and characters of the keys IOC I areimmaterial, and may be varied at will.

Sleeves o and f are provided to prevent lateral motion of the die andkey levers, respectively.

The operation of the device is as follows: Suppose it be desired topunch a check for forty-seven dollars. Press down the plate B enough toadmit the check, and slip the check into position beneath the rollers athen press down first the key marked with the dollar sign, then thatmarked 4, then that marked 7, and then that marked with the dollar sign,the latter to prevent the addition of other figures.

The operations caused by pressing each key down are as follows: As thekey goes down the dies come together, the female die first arrivinginposition and being centered by the sloping face 6, and then sliding upinto the tapering cavity 6 the male die coming down and being centeredby the sloping face 61 entering the tapering cavity 1) or a as the casemay be, strikes the check and cuts a piece out, which piece fallsthrough the female die on the pedestal A. As the part F of the key levergoes down, it strikes, near its lowest position, the bar H carrying thepallet K; as this pallet goes down the prong k passes over one tooth ofthe ratchet wheel I) and is drawn by the spring 10 behind that tooth.Now when the key 13 is released the spring 01 or f as the case may be,lifts the key back into its normal position at the same time removingthe pressure of the part F of the key lever from the bar H, this bar isthen lifted by the springs h carrying with it the pallet K, which turnsthe ratchet wheel 19* until the arm is strikes against the plate B, whenthe ratchet wheel b and feed roller B stop turning. The teeth on theratchet wheel b should preferably be so arranged that the slipping ofone tooth will give to the feed roller the motion necessary to move thecheck one space.

It will be evident that many modifications would readily suggestthemselves to any one skilled in the art, which could be used withoutdeparting from the spirit of myinvention. It will be evident that thetable B being pressed down as the check is inserted, and then springingup into position, enables the operator to readily insert the checks withone hand and simultaneously use the other hand on the key board, thusgreatly increasing the rapidity of the operation. It will also beevident that the herein-described device is applicable for use inpunching tickets, coupons, cards, checks, and various other similararticles used in commerce.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patent of the United States, is

1. In a check punch, the combination with a pair of levers pivotallysecured together, the one lever being provided with a male die and theother with a female die, of a key lever pivoted below said pair of dielevers and having an upwardly projecting arm adapted to operate both ofsaid dic levers and a table perforated in the path of said die levers,and adapted to support the article to be punched, substantially asdescribed.

2. In a check punch, the combination with a pair of die levers arrangedone above the other and pivotally secured together, the one lever beingprovided with a male die and the other with a female die, of a key leverpivoted below said pair of die levers and having an upwardly projectingarm adapted to operate said die levers, a table perforated in the pathof said die levers, means for holding the check on said table, a feedroller mounted on said table and adapted to engage said check, andmechanism operated by said key lever to impart an interrupted motion tosaid feed roller, substantially as described.

3. In an apparatus of the character described, the combination with thedie levers and dies and means for operating the same of a frame carryingrollers, a table pivoted at one side beneath said rollers and perforatedto receive said dies, and a spring secured to said frame and adapted topress said table upward against said rollers, and means for moving thecheck on said table, substantially as and for the purposes described.

4. In an apparatus of the character described, the combination with thedie levers and dies and means for operating the same, of a framecarrying rollers, a table pivoted at one side beneath said rollers andperforated to receive said dies, a spring secured to said frame andadapted to press said table upward against said rollers, a feed rollermounted beneath said table and adapted to move said check, and means formoving said feed roller, substantially as described.

5. In an apparatus of the character described, the combination with thedie levers and dies and means for operating the same, of a framecarrying rollers, a table pivoted at one side beneath said rollers andperforated to receive said dies, a spring secured to said frame andadapted to press said table upward against said rollers,afeed rollermounted beneath said table and adapted to move said check, a ratchetWheel mounted on the same shaft with said feed roller, and a palletadapted to engage said ratchet wheel, and means for moving said pallet,substantially as and for the purposes described.

6. In a feed mechanism for machines of the character described, thecombination with a table and means for holding the check thereon, of amovable part actuated by the motive power, a feed roller journaledbeneath said table and projecting above the surface thereof, a ratchetwheel moving with the feed roller, a pallet having two prongs, oneadapted to engage in the teeth of said ratchet wheel and the otheradapted to strike on the lower portion of said table, a spring normallyholding said pallet against said ratchet wheel and the under side ofsaid table, and a projection extending from said pallet below saidmovable part and adapted to be struck by said part as the latter ispressed down, substantially as described.

7. In a feed mechanism formachines of the character described, thecombination with a table and means for holding thecheck there on, of apivoted lever passing beneath said table, a feed roller journaledbeneath said table and projecting above the surface thereof, a ratchetwheel moving with the feed roller, a pallet having two prongs, oneadapted to engage in the teeth of said ratchet wheel and the otheradapted to strike on the lower portion of said table, a spring normallyholding said pallet against said ratchet wheel and the under side ofsaid table, and a projection extending from said pallet below saidpivoted lever, and adapted to be struck by said lever as the latterispressed down, substantially as described.

8. In a feed mechanism for machines of the engage in the teeth of saidratchet wheeland the other adapted to strike on the lower portion ofsaid table, a spring normally holding said palletagainst said ratchetwheel and the under side of the table, a spring pawl independent of saidpallet and adapted to hold said ratchet wheel against turning backwardas said pallet is dragged over said ratchet teeth, and a projectionextending from said pallet below said movable part and adapted to bestruck by said part as the latter is pressed down, substantially asdescribed.

9, In a feed mechanism for machines of the character described, thecombination with a table and means for holding the check thereon,of apivoted lever passing .beneath said table, a feed roller journaledbeneath said table and projecting above the surface thereof, a ratchetwheel moving with the feed roller, a pallet having two prongs, oneadapted to engage in the teeth of said ratchet wheel and the otheradapted to strikeon the lower portion of said table, a spring normallyholding said pallet against said ratchet wheel and the under side of thetable, a spring pawl independent of said pallet and adapted to hold saidratchet wheel against turning backward as said pallet is dragged oversaid ratchet teeth, and a projection extending from said pallet belowsaid pivoted lever, and adapted to be struck by said lever as the latteris pressed down, substantially as described.

10. In a feed mechanism for machines of the character described, thecombination with the devices for punching and holding the checkincluding the table B and the key levers F, of the feed roller 13 andratchet wheel and spring pawl 11 adapted to engage in said ratchetwheel; the pallet K having the prong adapted to engage said ratchetwheel, and

the arm 70 adapted to strike beneath said table, and the spring 10adapted to normally press said prong 70 against said ratchet wheel andsaid arm 7c against said table; thecross bar H suspended beneath saidkey levers and supporting said pallet, and springs adjusted tosupportsaid cross bar H so that it may be struck by any one of said keylevers and pressed down temporarily carrying with it the pallet K,substantially as and for the purposes described.

11. In a feed mechanism for machines of the character described, thecombination with the devices for punching and holding the checkincluding the table B and the key levers F, of the feed roller B andratchet wheel 12 and spring pawl b adapted to engagein said ratchetwheel; the pallet K having the prong 7c adapted to engage said ratchetwheel, and the arm 70 adapted to strike beneath said table, and thespring 70 adapted to normally press said prong 70 against said ratchetwheel and said arm It against said table; the cross bar H suspendedbeneath said key levers and supporting said pallet, the connecting rodsh supporting the ends of said cross bar, the levers h, the cross bar H,and the springs 72. substantially as and for the purposes described.

12. In a check punch, the combination with a pair of levers arranged oneabove theother, the one lever being provided with a male die and theother with a female die, of a table having an aperture .therein withtapering sides adapted to center and arrest the motion of the femaledie, and mechanism for so moving the two die levers that the female diefirst reaches the plate where it is centered and arrested, and thenfollowed by the male die, substantially as and for the purposesdescribed.

13. In a check punch, the combination with a suitable perforated tablefor holding the check, of the two die levers D and E pivoted at C andcarrying the dies,the said die levers being provided with studs d and '6respectively, andthe key lever F pivoted at F and having theupwardly-projecting arm F with projections f and f and slots f and f,substantially as and for the purposes described.

14. In a check punch, the combination with a suitable perforated tablefor holding the check, of the two die levers D and E pivoted at G andcarrying the male die D and the female die E respectively, the dielevers being provided with studs d and e and the key 1ever F pivoted atF and having the upwardly projecting arm F with the projections f and fand the slot f adapted to engage the stud d and the slots f curved at fand adapted to engage the stud 6 substantially as and for the purposesdescribed.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

LOUIS L. DRIGGS.

Witnesses:

JOHN 0. WILSON, PERCY O. BOWEN.

IIO

